What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting networks, programs, and systems from any cyberattacks that aim to alter, destroy, or access confidential and sensitive information, interrupt normal business operations, or extort money from unsuspecting victims.
With innovations that cybercriminals are promptly implementing to their attack tactics, implementing effective cybersecurity measures is becoming challenging nowadays as there are more devices than people, and more people are not aware of safety cybersecurity practices, to begin with.
What is cybersecurity all about?
It’s all about protection from unauthorized access from bad actors. There must be multiple layers of protection spread across the data that one intends to keep safe, the computers, networks, and programs, to declare a successful cybersecurity approach.
Within an organization, the technology, the processes, and most significantly, the people must complement each other to create an efficient and effective defense against cyberattacks.
People
The users must comply and understand cybersecurity and its principles, such as not clicking any random file attachments from emails, choosing a strong password, and consistently backing up data.
Processes
What is cybersecurity? It highlights the processes or the things to do when an attempt or an actual cyber-attack is present in your system. With the advancements of technology and methodologies in cyber-attacks, a company, no matter how vast, can still be prone to infiltration.
An organization must have a framework that could guide them to spot potential cyberattack initiations, prevent them from progressing further, respond to these threats, and recover from them.
Technology
Technology is necessary for giving organizations and individuals the computer security tools needed to protect themselves from cyber-attacks. Three main entities must be protected: endpoint devices like computers, smart devices, routers; networks; and the cloud.
Common technologies used to protect these entities include next-generation firewalls, malware protection, DNS filtering, antivirus software, and email security solutions.
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What is cybersecurity’s importance?
In today’s day and age, an advanced cyber-defense is a must. At the individual level, identity theft, extortion, and data loss can be prevented with a robust cybersecurity measure.
On a broader level, these cybersecurity measures are essential to the function of society as critical infrastructures such as power plants, hospitals, and financial service companies rely on them.
Everyone benefits from what’s behind cybersecurity, especially organizations that could face a hefty fine imposed by the PDPC for a probable violation of the PDPA.
Types of cybersecurity threats
Phishing is a method criminals use to fraudulently obtain your private personal data and/or banking information. This may include a wide variety of ways depending on the scheme launched by the perpetrators.
Essentially, they disguise themselves as legitimate individuals who offer you a promo, product, or service through email, instant messaging, and other online correspondence.
Once they obtain your private information, the cybercriminals will use it to access your online profiles to perpetuate further fraudulent acts, or worse, drain your financial channels.
Social Engineering is defined as the “psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.” It is a mode of manipulation to deceitfully gain access to another’s valuables, whether it be tangible and intangible stuff.
In the context of cybersecurity, social engineering can be defined as an attack vector that relies on human interaction and often involves manipulating an individual into breaking cybersecurity procedures to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or private personal data.
Ransomware is a variation of malware (malicious software) that encrypts files and documents. It can infect a single unit of a computer or even an entire network, including a company’s servers. From the word itself, the perpetrator demands a ransom from the victim in exchange for a “decryption key” to regain access.
Malware is a type of software used to gain access to a system or a computer or simply damage it.
5 Best practices for cybersecurity
These are some of the best practices every organization and individual should follow to prevent the infestation of any possible cyber-attack
- Update your software and operating systems regularly: It is highly recommended that the company’s software be up to date. These updates contain security improvements for data protection and other aspects of the company.
Online threats are constantly changing, and they also improve over time. With this, updating your software is essential for one not to fall victim to cyberattacks due to an outdated system the attackers already figured out how to infiltrate. - Use antivirus software: It can do a lot when it comes to malware infestations and potential security breaches. One should utilize its benefits as it detects potential threats and has the capability of removing them.
- Use strong passwords and regularly change them: Your password should be strong and cannot be easily guessed. It must not contain any obvious words or phrases linked to your identity, and it must be a combination of letters and numbers for it not to be cracked easily.
- Do not open email attachments and links from unknown senders and unfamiliar websites: Ransomware attacks can start from phishing or smishing. One should avoid clicking the attachments accompanied with it as it is the first step to infestation.
- Avoid using unsecure Wi-Fi networks in public places: man-in-the-middle attacks are common to unsecured networks, and they make you vulnerable to them. Make sure to avoid them to secure your data.
Also Read: 3 Reasons Why You Must Take A PDPA Singapore Course
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